Bath & North East Somerset

Bath & North East Somerset is a unitary authority created on the 1st of April 1996 after the abolition of the previously unpopular county of Avon.

No political party has been in overall control of the County Council since it was created. In the May 2003 local elections the Conservative party won an extra ten seats bringing them almost level with the Liberal Democrats, and then in 2007 made further gains making the party the largest group on the council - though still just without overall control.

The current MP for Bath is the Liberal Democrat Don Foster who was first elected in 1992 after defeating then incumbent Conservative MP Chris Patten. At the last election Don Foster had a reduced majority of 4638, with a 5.6% swing to the Conservatives.

The City of Bath

A Designated UNESCO World Heritage Site

The City of Bath has been awarded cultural World Heritage site status, and is world famous for it’s naturally occurring hot springs which have been the focal point of the city since Elizabethan times. Other famous sites and attractions include the beautiful 16th century Bath Abbey, the Georgian Royal Crescent, the Roman Baths, and the Bath Spa Millennium project which has now finally been opened. The city is also home to Bath Rugby Club who play at The Rec.

Bath has also seen its fair share of conflict thoughout history. During the Civil War, on the 5th of July 1643, the Battle of Lansdowne was fought on the outskirts of the city, and on the 27th of April 1942, parts of the city were destroyed when bombed by the German Luftwaffe as a reprisal for RAF attacks on Lübeck and Rostock.

Somerset Countryside

An Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty

The Avon Valley was awarded with the status of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and boarders with the Cotswolds. The River Avon runs through the county and through Bath itself, and is controlled by a series of weirs.

To the south of Bath are the Midsomer Valleys with their tucked away villages and the striking industrial heritage of the twin towns, Radstock and Midsomer Norton. Close by are the chocolate-box villages, picturesque scenery and peaceful lakes of the Chew Valley. To the west of Bath the River Avon follows its course passing by the town of Keynsham on its way to Bristol. Eastwards from Bath the historic Kennet and Avon Canal travels through the charming Limpley Stoke Valley.

Bath is also surrounded by three distinctive, and quintessentially English, landscapes: the hills and honey-stoned villages of the Cotswolds and South Gloucestershire; West Wiltshire’s wide open spaces and ancient sites, and the myths and legends of the Mendip Hills of Somerset.